


Unseen Scars

by MiyabiDreams



Series: Elysia [6]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Bad shit going down, Gen, PTSD, good squad best friends, in the Mako, less shippy and more moral support
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2016-02-15
Packaged: 2018-05-20 22:14:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6027343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiyabiDreams/pseuds/MiyabiDreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shepard's first Thresher Maw kill after the trap at Akuze goes swimmingly...until the thing is dead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unseen Scars

_"YES. GET FUCKING WRECKED YOU MISERABLE SANDWORM!"_

Well, now they were deaf, in addition to rattled and mildly terrified. A thresher maw encounter on some backwater desert planet wasn't exactly either of their ideas of a good first informal mission with the Commander, but here they were, crammed into the M35 Mako, making rapid omnigel repairs while Shepard manned the guns. Except now there was nothing to kill; all was silent, save for ragged breathing through clenched teeth, which was to be expected when one had just been assaulted by an alien worm the size of an Alliance fighter. The adrenaline would fade off in time.

"Commander-"

"Shh."

\--

_bloodfiredeath where are you **Simmons, Rogers, somebody talk to me!**_

_silence_

_**I swear to god someone better give me a report!** _

_silence_

_**SHEPARD** _

_silence_

_coughing blood smell of acid pain so much pain where am I **Lieutenant Shepard report!**_

_gone, sir. they're all gone._

\--

Thick fingers pried her fingers away from the gun controls. More gentle than most would expect a turian to be, but then again, he could tell the signs of trauma when he saw them. She still wasn't speaking, her eyes were still focused on something that neither of them could see, and now that they were loosened, both Garrus and Kaidan could see the trembling of her hands. She didn't even seem to be aware of their presence beside her, until she had been placed on the floor of the tank, sitting frozen on the chilly metal, and the guns at her back had been very carefully removed.

It was impressive, Kaidan would recount later, between missions. She hadn't shut down immediately upon finding the Thresher's nest, she'd jumped into the guns and blasted the damn thing's legs right off its body, then aimed the cannon straight down its throat. It had been an incredible mess and Garrus would be cleaning Maw bits out of the Mako's crevices, but regardless of how it had gone down, she hadn't frozen. She'd protected them with the ruthless skill and efficiency that they'd come to expect from her. Only when the tremors under the ground had stopped had she seized up. Only when they were safe did she let her focus drop enough for the terror to sink in.

Right now though, he wasn't looking at a fierce warrior. He was watching a survivor reliving one of the most terrifying moments of her life in vivid technicolor.

The shotgun closest at her hands had been placed aside, as well as the pistol at her hip, and the moment Garrus had backed off enough, Kaidan knelt, one hand resting on Shepard's shoulder. He didn't move her any further, just settled there at her side, offering silent support. Which turned out to be literal, when she started to lean, as if she wanted to curl up on the floor with her arms wrapped around her knees. He let her rest there, looking up to Garrus and shaking his head. She would surface in time, but right now, the best they could do for her would be to wait. Garrus was sending off a brief mission report; they'd been delayed, but they'd be back on the Normandy in an hour or so. That was the best they could offer just then.

"Call Admiral Kahoku. Have this planet flagged," she said after a little while longer. Kaidan looked down at her with mild surprise, then nodded, putting the information into his omnitool to be sent after reviewing. Maw habitation was definitely something that the Alliance brass should be made aware of. No more teams would be lost to worm ambush.


End file.
